Published: Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 4:36 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 4:36 p.m.

University of Florida President Bernie Machen is delaying a 3 percent raise for faculty, pending the resolution of a lawsuit over a requirement that public employees contribute the same amount toward their retirement plan.

The raise was intended to offset a state law requiring workers in the Florida Retirement System to make a new 3 percent retirement contribution starting July 1, 2011. Machen told the Faculty Senate on Thursday that he still wants to implement the raise, but that a lawsuit challenging the requirement has stymied the plan.

He said he will still ask UF trustees next month to pass benefit cuts tied to the raise, but he said he will request the authority to delay implementing the changes until the lawsuit is resolved.

"I think I need to wait until the lawsuit is settled to see what our jeopardy would be," he said.

A lawsuit challenging the requirement, filed by teacher and other public employee unions, is pending in circuit court in Leon County. If the lawsuit is resolved with the requirement being upheld, Machen said he thinks the raise would be retroactive to the Jan. 20, 2012, date when it had been planned to start.

"I just don't think I want to stick my neck out further than that until we get that lawsuit resolved," he said.

UF is proposing providing the raise in exchange for eliminating payouts that departing faculty have received for unused sick leave. Faculty with 10 years of experience who retired by June 30, 2016, would be exempted.

Machen said those benefit changes would be tied to the raise, meaning they wouldn't go into effect unless the retirement contribution is upheld and the raise is given. But if the lawsuit overturns the requirement, Machen said the state would likely leave it to UF to make up the difference in its budget.

"If in fact the lawsuit were successful, somebody would have to put that 3 percent back in people's paychecks," he said. "I've already been told by legislative leaders that it will not be the Legislature."

Staff have already been given a 3 percent raise and had their vacation payouts capped in exchange for it. Machen said that the lawsuit would not affect their raise.

UF had delayed the raise for faculty to allow more time for discussion. Faculty were initially given two options, including one in which they could forgo the raise and keep the sick-leave payouts. Despite most comments favoring that option on a Faculty Senate blog, UF decided to proceed with an option that didn't provide faculty with such a choice.

Machen said he thinks the sick-leave change is a good idea because it aligns the university's practices with the way things are done in the private sector. If the state ends up cutting UF's budget again, he said the benefit changes would be a way to make up for the loss of funding.

"It is a way to cover a 3 percent budget cut, to restore that 3 percent, without having to touch anything else," he said.

Contact Nathan Crabbe at 338-3176 or nathan.crabbe@gvillesun.com. For more stories on the University of Florida, visit www.thecampussun.com.

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<hr /><p>The raise was intended to offset a state law requiring workers in the Florida Retirement System to make a new 3 percent retirement contribution starting July 1, 2011. Machen told the Faculty Senate on Thursday that he still wants to implement the raise, but that a lawsuit challenging the requirement has stymied the plan.</p><p>He said he will still ask UF trustees next month to pass benefit cuts tied to the raise, but he said he will request the authority to delay implementing the changes until the lawsuit is resolved.</p><p>"I think I need to wait until the lawsuit is settled to see what our jeopardy would be," he said.</p><p>A lawsuit challenging the requirement, filed by teacher and other public employee unions, is pending in circuit court in Leon County. If the lawsuit is resolved with the requirement being upheld, Machen said he thinks the raise would be retroactive to the Jan. 20, 2012, date when it had been planned to start.</p><p>"I just don't think I want to stick my neck out further than that until we get that lawsuit resolved," he said.</p><p>UF is proposing providing the raise in exchange for eliminating payouts that departing faculty have received for unused sick leave. Faculty with 10 years of experience who retired by June 30, 2016, would be exempted.</p><p>Machen said those benefit changes would be tied to the raise, meaning they wouldn't go into effect unless the retirement contribution is upheld and the raise is given. But if the lawsuit overturns the requirement, Machen said the state would likely leave it to UF to make up the difference in its budget.</p><p>"If in fact the lawsuit were successful, somebody would have to put that 3 percent back in people's paychecks," he said. "I've already been told by legislative leaders that it will not be the Legislature."</p><p>Staff have already been given a 3 percent raise and had their vacation payouts capped in exchange for it. Machen said that the lawsuit would not affect their raise.</p><p>"They got it, and they're going to keep it," he said. "That's a done deal."</p><p>UF had delayed the raise for faculty to allow more time for discussion. Faculty were initially given two options, including one in which they could forgo the raise and keep the sick-leave payouts. Despite most comments favoring that option on a Faculty Senate blog, UF decided to proceed with an option that didn't provide faculty with such a choice.</p><p>Machen said he thinks the sick-leave change is a good idea because it aligns the university's practices with the way things are done in the private sector. If the state ends up cutting UF's budget again, he said the benefit changes would be a way to make up for the loss of funding.</p><p>"It is a way to cover a 3 percent budget cut, to restore that 3 percent, without having to touch anything else," he said.</p><p><i>Contact Nathan Crabbe at 338-3176 or nathan.crabbe@gvillesun.com. For more stories on the University of Florida, visit www.thecampussun.com.</i></p>